Monday, May 7, 2012

Monday Morning Check-In

Prior to the start of the weekend, I was all set to join for the round when I noticed two botched stitches I knew would bother me if I left as-is….so I ripped out half of my work, also known as the entire evening's progress. So frustrating! The beginning section is probably the easiest part, too - stockinette with a few RS increases. Nevertheless, I got back on track and had a finished scarf/cowl by the end of the weekend.

I had to frog and restart a few times because I kept twisting the cast-on. Why is it that, in my many years of knitting projects in the round, I am only now becoming prone to this annoying problem? WHY? I finally gave up and decided to knit flat - which is how the pattern is written anyhow....quite possibly for a reason! I will say, though the angora laceweight seems delicate, it held up surprisingly well to multiple froggings. The lacy pattern is quite simple, but I still found ways to botch it. After the afore-mentioned false starts, I was finally able to get something i could work with - though imperfect with the occasional mistake, this is still far better than my previous attempts. Sometimes the easiest thing are also the hardest!

Last week I finished both sweater fronts! I knit them at the same time, which I have to say is the best. idea. ever. For one thing, it makes the decreasing much easier, and for another, I know that they both are identical in terms of length as well as shaping...all good things when making a sweater you intend to wear a ton (or even a little, for that matter). I took a breather for a few days before casting on for the sleeves - I know I'm going to be making them a bit shorter than called for, and wanted to take some time to figure out what, if any, modifications needed to be made.

In other news, our beloved kidney cat Robin continues to do well - both he and Tilly had their wellness checkup at the vet last week (she's doing well as always!). While some of Robin's numbers are elevated, a few have actually improved since his last checkup 6 months ago. Our awesome vet assured us that we are managing his kidney disease quite well, which is something I'll never tire of hearing from her. He's still a happy guy (except when we take him to the dreaded vet), and his daily care is surprisingly easy, not to mention totally worth it. He did somehow lose nearly two pounds in six months, which arguably needed to happen, but is also something to keep an eye on. I suspect it has something to do with his self-imposed "diet" - he often doesn't finish his dry food at night. That's probably more than you needed to know about the health and eating habits of my cat, so if you made it this far, you've earned a gold star! And possibly a grooming headlock from Robin - it was a little tough to capture but a sight to behold: